Wed Jan 09, 2013 10:23 pm
I expected the video of the meeting to be posted by this morning. Since it hasn't been, I'm guessing that the lawyers are having some heartburn about posting it unedited. So in the absence of the video, and at the risk of having my faulty memory exposed if the video is later posted, I offer the following:
My overall sense of the meeting is that most of the audience was primarily interested in the battery degradation problem and in the end weren't satisfied with what they heard. At least a couple of people reported being at 8 bars and were very concerned about their range. Other folks had more bars but were equally concerned about their range.
My take on the meeting is that:
1. Nissan thinks it has solved the battery issue by coming out with this warranty.
2. Nissan has no intention (at this point at least) of going to a fluid cooling system for the battery. When more than one person suggested that such a system would solve the problem, Andy was pretty clear in stating that "there are many ways to dissipate heat, and fluid is only one of them." He really doesn't think it is the way to go. He also said they have no "Dubai Leaf," or any plans for a "desert version."
I think that Nissan really has no solution to the battery problem, isn't really interested in the AZ/hot climate market, and thinks that hot climate folks should be happy to have a leaf last 6-7 years (this assumes a one-time bump during the warranty period, followed by a drop back down to 8-9 bars by year 6 or 7.
Anyway, in my opinion the frustration/disappointment on the audience's part was palpable.
In spite of all of that, I was encouraged by the meeting. I believe Andy is sincere and felt he was honest with his responses. It would have been pretty easy to avoid coming to Phoenix or to have someone else do it instead. Billy and Jeff also struck me as sincere and genuinely interested in resolving our issues. Unfortunately I just don't think they really get what our issue is.
Kelly
2011 White SL-e (sold back to Nissan on 01/10/2013)
2011Silver SL with new lizard battery purchased used on 9/9/2015
2018 Tesla Model 3 received 4/27/2018